Recycle Your Bike into Something Beautiful
Bikes, and all their innumerable parts, can be tricky to get rid of. It's hard to flat out break a road bike beyond fixing (unless you're Jens Voigt), so that's not a good excuse for replacing it with a new, better, brighter, carbon-fiber one. And you feel guilty throwing your old, worn-out or too-small kid's bike away because there has to be someone somewhere who could use it, right?
Even if you donate your used 10-speed to some child in need, that bike will eventually come to the end of the hand-me-down line and it needs a final resting spot. Rather than the local dump or the back alley, try these innovative and incredible designs, all made from recycled bikes and recycled bike parts.
On the Walls
Use a wheel frame, a cog from a cassette, or a section of chain to create a custom clock .
Images courtesy of luxurylaunches.com, bicycle-gifts.com, and pixelthis (via Etsy)
Wheels , either with or without the tire, make great frames for mirrors.
Images courtesy of homeworkshop.com and re-nest.com
Bike chains fit every taste and style - from the medieval to the modern.
Images courtesy of hautenature.com and moodlightfish.co.uk
On the Table
An old bike chain, some cogs and freehub bodies, and some super glue, and you've got yourself more bowls and candle holders than you know what to do with.
Image courtesy of bambeco.com and gentsupplyco.com
Beer bottles have met their match: bike chain plus a section of chain ring.
Images courtesy of thedailygreen.com and threadbanger.com
Craving some homemade sushi? Western Washington University student Kegan McCurdy made a mint when he recycled bicycle spokes into reusable, easy-to-clean sushi rollers.
Image courtesy of seattlepi.com
To Sit On
Andy Gregg found his inspiration (and his livelihood) in recycled bike furniture. He started Bike Furniture Design in 1990 and has been creating comfortable, functional bike furniture since.
Images courtesy of bikefurniture.com
Others have gotten creative with recycled bike tire tubes.
Image courtesy of wheels-on-fire.nl
Others still have just lopped their old bikes into pieces, and sit on them.
Image courtesy of spokefiend.com
On Your Body
Deconstructed, recycled bike bits make elegant metal jewelry.
Images courtesy of bikepartjewelry.com and trendhunter.com
Give them a few days to lose their rubbery smell, and bike tire tubes can be re-purposed into fun and fashionable accessories.
Images courtesy of ReclaimedWreckage (via Etsy), hautenature.com, and doobybrain.com
Outside
Bike Frames and some of the bulkier bike parts have a home outside of the house - but not too far outside.
Try using them for decoration...
Image courtesy of scoutingny.com
...or for more practical reasons.
Image courtesy of apartmenttherapy.com
Looking for more ways to recycle hard-to-get-rid-of things? Check out how we use recycled tires for more ideas, from flower pots to retaining walls.
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